Bad Decisions
Release "Bad Decisions" by American recording artist Callie Hunter was released on July 4th, 2016 via Sync Music. The song had no former announcement other than tweets addressing a "surprise" Hunter had been working on. A remastered version of the song is track seven on her sixth album Kaleidoscope. The reason behind releasing the single mid-sales week instead of on Friday was explained by Hunter as a form of protest. Following the chart rule change limiting the impact of sales, Hunter and many young artist have been outspoken on the topic. Composition "Bad Decisions" is a mid-tempo pop and alt-R&B song with heavy stadium rock influences. Written in the key of A Minor, the song features a prominent guitar riff, heavy percussion, horns, synthesizers, and bass sounds along with siren sounds effects. In the bridge section of the song, a prominent saxophone solo is featured. "Bad Decisions" is the first song since the Happy Birthday album not to feature Hunter as the primary writer as the song was written by Kristopher Johansen who sent a demo to Hunter to finish. Once she finished it he gave the song to her and helped finish producing it along with co-writers Lukas Allard and Ilya Reynolds. Critical Reception Upon release "Bad Decisions" was met with nearly universal critical acclaim. Many publications, including Buzz, TS34, Sims Billboard, Muze, SimVogue, and more called it "Hunter's best song to date" and an on air DJ for 102.7 FM said "She constantly tops herself. First 'We Belong Together' was her best and then 'Ridiculous' and now this!" Commercial Performance "Bad Decisions" debuted on the Hot 100 at #85 the week of July 7th, 2016. The song's limited mid-week release was the reason for the low performance and is Hunter's first lead single not to debut in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. The song did have impact on the new Digital Song Chart entering at #43 and on the Streaming 25 at #24 as well as entering in other territories. On July 14th, the song jumped 85-12 on the Hot 100, the fifth largest leap in the chart's history and the largest move since "Champagne Party" by ArtSims jumped 91-1 in late 2011, the second biggest jump. "Bad Decisions" also made gains on various other charts including the Digital Songs chart (43-9), Streaming 25 (24-5), and other international charts. The song also debuted on the Pop Airplay chart with the introduction of a radio edit. The week of July 21st, 2016 "Bad Decisions" fell 12-18 on the Hot 100 after Hunter was unable to attend the Sims Billboard Awards and therefore lost an opportunity to promote the song. Chart forecasters predict the song will continue to fall as Hunter is busy recording new music and will miss the Top 10. It rose on other charts however while remaining #5 on the Streaming 25 and fell 9-15 on Digital Songs. On July 28th, "Bad Decisions" fell 18-43 on the Hot 100 and is expected to fall off the Hot 100 the following week. On August 4th the song fell 43-71 earning Callie Hunter a fifty-second consecutive week on the Hot 100. While not a record it's a personal best. The streak began in August 2015 with the song "Bombastic." In January 2017, the song was certified platinum and was listed at #60 on the Year-End Hot 100 Chart. When "Bad Decisions" parent album Kaleidoscope was released, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at #98. Charts